Island Of Blood
by MyBrokenFantasy
Summary: AU. When Castiel and his family's fishing trip in Italy becomes devistated by a storm, they wake on the island of Sicily. Only to find out its inhabited by zombies. Now it's a battle of surviving to escape the island. OC/Castiel, Dean/Castiel in later chapters. My very first time writing something based on horror, please go easy on me.
1. Vacation Plans

Isola Di Sangue **( Island of Blood )**

**Summary: AU Castiel Novak is a shutterbug who enjoys living the life outdoors. during a boat cruise off the coast of Italy, his boat is wrecked by a storm and wakes up to find that he, his brothers and sister and four other survivors were washed ashore the island of Sicily, but... something's not right. don't want to spoil the rest.. **

**Pairing: OC/Castiel in beginning chapters, Dean/Castiel in later chapters.**

**Authors Note: Like I say in all my other stories, I suck at writing and do this for fun so please go easy on me**

**IMPORTANT NOTE!: Some of the dialogue will be typed in Italian so the translation will be bolded, as in example of the title above.. thank you and enjoy. **

**Rating: M**

**Genre: Horror/Romance/Angst/Drama/Hurt/Comfort & others I guess**

**CHAPTER 1: **Vacation Plans

...

It's just another one of those boring, stressful days at the office, as usual. Fuck, everyday is like this, the same old routine over and over and over. Wake up at seven, shower, eat breakfast, get stuck in traffic going to work, be greeted by the same coworkers you see every single day, sit at the computer, get calls and listen to the annoying people complain about their problems and be asked constant questions. This is what it's like working for the Citizen Service Center ( or what everyone calls, 311) in the city that never sleeps... Literally. And for Castiel Novak, it was the only job he could get since these days jobs were very tough to come by, especially in this economy. The pay sort of sucked, but hell, at least it's something right?

Castiel pinched the bridge of his nose, he never liked how noisy the city got, including on rush hours. Just the sounds of cars honking their horns, everyone cussing out at each other out of road rage, construction being done and police sirens bellowing. I mean, growing up in a town in New Jersey everything is more quieter at least. Choosing to work out here was hell, at least in his opinion.

Aside from all that... the one and only thing that he _did_ love... was photography. A hobby really. Castiel felt the world was better every time he'd look through the lens. Even as a child he loved it, every birthday his father got him a new camera and he'd run around taking photos of everything, even of his dad, older brothers and sister. He never had any of his mother though, sadly she past away before he turned two. There _were_ pictures of her around the house, and from the stories he heard from his father she was a wonderful, loving person. He wished he could've known her personally.

" Mr. Novak, is daydreaming more important than getting your job done?"

Castiel blinked a few times as his trance faded, he hadn't even noticed he was woolgathering. Glancing up to his very impatient, bitch of a boss whose cold bright blue eyes glared back. Castiel felt an uneasy shiver crawl up his spine. " ... No sir..." it wasn't what he really wanted to say, he actually wanted to tell the son of a bitch off. Castiel may be a townie but he hated being looked down upon like some helpless ant, but that would get him fired in a second. And he really didn't want to lose this job, like he had with every other one he had before this.

" Don't let it happen again!" the man's voice rose, then turned on his heels and walked away. Castiel rolled his eyes with an irritated sigh, he hated that guy's guts more than his other dick head bosses. It seemed that no matter what kind of job he found himself in, there was always the douche bags in charge.

" Ah, just let it go Cas... he's probably in one of his bad moods or something... as always."

Castiel turned in his seat to gaze to his booth partner, showing more annoyance to the nickname. " Gabriel... how many times have I asked you to not call me Cas?"

Gabriel raised his hands in defense. " Hey, come on I'm your brother man... I have rights to give you a nickname."

Castiel narrowed his brows. " You don't hear me calling you Gabe, do you?"

Gabriel quivered. " Eww no... it's too girly for me."

" Fine, then don't call me Cas..." he replied, returning to his desk to answer calls.

Gabriel stared at his little brother's back, sensing all the stress he's going through, not to mention his attitude. Sure Castiel is a bit apathetic and most times stoic, but his latest grumpy moods were something to worry about. Gabriel has been working here for nearly three years, he is used to the strain it brings. And it was he who got Castiel the job. Deep down he was beginning to regret getting Castiel into this business. He thought for a moment to himself. Today's friday and they'll both have a week off by monday, he thought maybe helping get that stress off his brother's shoulders will lighten his mood.

" Yo Castiel..."

" What is it now?" the younger brother answered without turning.

" Sunday, the family and I are going to Italy for the week."

" And?..."

Gabriel hesitated for a minute. " And I was wondering if you wanted to come along."

" You know I hate long distant traveling." Castiel implied.

Gabriel scoffed at that. " Liar... I already know it's because of your fear of heights."

What he says is true, Castiel suffered from severe Altophobia. He wasn't born with it, no, as a kid he fell off a ladder while playing and hit his head. Since then, he's never went near anything that consisted on leaving the safety of the ground. Heck he can't stop remembering the many times Gabriel told him to talk to someone about it, or try getting over his fear and man up to them. But that was almost thirty years ago, and Castiel began to think that maybe it is time to face that fear. Although he has managed dealing with it... barely... being on the fifth floor here, as long as he never went near the windows or looked outside he's fine. ' Ah, what the hell..' he thought.

" So what do you say bro? you wanna tag along?" Gabriel asked once more.

Castiel peered to him, eyes showing hints of hesitation, he wanted to say yes but what came out instead was, " I'll think about it..." he gave himself a mental slap across the face. Why can't he just say yes for anything? It's always I'll think about it, or not now, or no. But the excitement in his older brothers voice seemed to ease his mind a bit.

" Good, but I'll need the answer by dinner at dad's place."

" ... Right..." enough was said, then they both returned to their work just in time as the boss walked by again. Castiel glanced to his clock, and thank the lord he only had an hour left of this restless torture then he'll be leaving.

That one hour passed by agonizingly slow, but at last Castiel left, getting goodbyes from coworkers and his brother. Accompanying him was the stress from working, which was easy to get rid of by going for a walk in Central Park. And of course he brought along his camera, taking shots of things he found interesting to add to his collection, from people going about their day to breathtaking sceneries. Castiel strolled along unhurriedly, taking in the fresh air of freedom and enjoy his photography run. Such a traditional habit, some may say it's silly and old but he couldn't give a rats ass about what others said. He liked it and that's that.

A half hour later and a handful of pictures waiting to be developed, Castiel continued his way around the park. He has a couple of hours before he'd begin heading to his dads place back in New Jersey. So hanging around on a bench and reading the Daily News in peace would be very nice for the time being.

" Hey Castiel."

The man laid down the paper to glance up at the woman standing before him. She was wearing a pink and black sweat pants and matching shirt. Her red hair tied in a pony-tail, her green orbs beaming down at him. Castiel smiled, rising up from the bench to give a hug to a familiar face. " Hey Anna... out for a jog I see."

Anna chuckled, nudging at his shoulder as a sisterly gesture. " And I see you've been taking more photos, huh?" she plays with his Nikon camera that hung from it's straps around his neck. " Any good ones today?"

Anna and dad were the only ones who treated Castiel's hobby like it was a special gift, his brothers on the other hand thought of it as an obsession of some sort. The truth is, his mother too was a photographer, a trait that has passed down to him and that he was somewhat following in her footsteps. In fact many of the pictures at his dads were taken by her.

" I'll show you and dad them at dinner tonight." he softly smiled.

" Okay, I'll see you there soon.. I gotta run." Anna gives a goodbye hug before resuming her jog.

...

The drive back home is horrible, as it always is. Idiot drivers slowing down just to watch cops pull over some guy, then try figuring out what's going on, which stole almost thirty minutes of Castiel's life. " God, this is so annoying!" Okay, so Castiel is having a bit of a road rage thing going on, everyone gets it, especially during traffic. But luckily, Castiel had his way to sooth his growing frustrations. So he pops in a Disturbed CD, skips a few tracks to his number one favorite ' Down With The Sickness'. Strange to listen to angry music _while_ you're pissed off, but to Castiel it drained it away for some apparent reason.

Soon enough the traffic letup and in no time he got off the highway, heading towards Bloomsbury, his home. He has a pretty nice place at the edge of town, his childhood home. A few years after his mother passed away they moved out, so he bought it, and it was perfect for his privacy. About 50 yards all to himself.

He pulls into the garage and cuts the engine, but he sits there in the drivers seat for a moment in thought. Thinking about the trip to Italy Gabriel and his family are going to monday. One thing is, he was having mood swings for the past three weeks now, and Gabriel was only trying to help out. So maybe going with them will be fun. Besides, he's always wanted to visit Rome, the perfect place to add photos to his endless collection. It's just his fear that's holding him back. Castiel sighs, exiting the car with one decision made up. ' _I guess I'm going then... _'

Castiel reaches in his coat pocket to retrieve his key, then the door suddenly swings open. " Hey Castiel!"

" HOLY FUCK!" Castiel jolts back in shock, falling on the floor.

His surpriser rushes to him with a chuckle, smiling nervously at him. His messy mid-length dark hair everyone would refer to as bed head nearly covered his bright brown eyes, strong yet lean frame kneeling down to his eye level, a smile so beautiful it could make angels sing and a voice soft and deep as he apologized. " Sorry, I saw you drive up so I thought I'd greet you home."

" By giving me heart attack, Evan?"

Evan Wheeler, someone he's known during his time in college and well... is his boyfriend... _**Secret**_boyfriend is more like it. The two have been dating for little over a year, but Castiel's family did not know of it. And the reason? Castiel was just simply frightened to come out to his family about being gay, his family is quite religious so he has the slightest idea how they'd react if he told them. Evan has tried convincing him to get it off his shoulders and tell them and if they didn't accept him for it that at least he wouldn't be under pressure anymore.

" So, you gonna sit there on the cold floor or are you gonna come in?" Evan playfully pokes at his lover's forehead to break him from his inner thoughts.

Castiel blinked, " Um.." he gets up in a rush, dusting himself down. He then smiled, giving a quick flick at Evan's ear. " Don't scare me like that."he then enters the house while Evan rubs his ear with a playful pout.

After showering and cooking a meal for the dinner he'll be having with his family, Castiel and Evan sat by the fireplace enjoying a bowl of popcorn and watched some standup comedy. " So, are you finally gonna come out to your family?..." Evan asks very seriously.

Castiel sighed, " I don't know..." Evan then loops an arm around him and pulls him close.

" You promised me you'd tell them a month ago... I'm getting tired of pretending to still be friends when I'm invited to your dad's..."

" I know..." Castiel's head drops with a groan. Evan stared silently at his boyfriend, sensing the tension and nervousness radiate off him. He softly smiles and inches closer, laying a delicate kiss on his cheek. Castiel looks up at Evan with a weak smile that suddenly turned into a grin when he sees a glint of lust to those brown orbs. Castiel chuckles, " Is just staring at me a turn on for you?"

Evan lays a hand on Castiel's chest, lightly pushing him down against the carpet, " You have no Idea." he purred, tipping over and kissed at Castiel's neck, receiving a pleasant sigh from him. Castiel reaches up to tangle his fingers in his hair, lightly tugging and caressing, eyes slowly closing and biting his lower lip as Evan straddled his waist. Evan grins mischievously when he licks at his lover's earlobe which caused Castiel to gasp and buck his hips. " I love that you're so sensitive."

" I assure you I am not sensitive... I'm just ticklish there." Castiel replies.

" Really?... so if I do this-" he brushed his tongue across his jaw line and Castiel lets out a moan, " you won't get turned on?" Evan then nips at his flesh, feeling the man beneath him roll his hips against his and smiled, " Because your body seems to say differently Castiel."

Castiel chuckled, " Okay fine I'm sensitive." he ganders to the clock, he has ten minutes before he heads out. " We should get ready..."

" And what? show up at your dad's with a boner?" Evan laughed and indicated the erection they both clearly had pressing against their pants.

Castiel sat up, giving a long kiss on Evan's lips. He then begins unbuttoning his lover's jeans, " Fine... but we need to be quick." he whispered seductively before laying back down. Evan slides his hand up Castiel's shirt, revealing his slender baby-soft pale skin, then grazed the tip of his fingers down his stomach, sending a wave of titillation and shivers throughout Castiel's being. " Mmh... we don't have time for teasing." he breathed, gripping at Evan's shirt and pulling him close. Evan begins to unfasten Castiel's pants, then tugs them down. Just as they reached his thighs they both jolt in surprise when the bell rings. The lover's gaze confusingly at the door, " Who is it?" Castiel shouts.

" Cas it's me open up!" that familiar foreign accent caused Castiel to quickly pull up his slacks and move away from Evan, mouthing ' fix yourself up' to him as he went for the door. Castiel tried to hold in his laughter because Evan was looking desperately for something to cover his erection to which he finally decided to hide it with a pillow. Castiel sighs, fixing himself up as well before opening the door. " Hello there little cousin! how are you?" Castiel was greeted with a tight hug from the taller man before him. " I see you've bought the old family home." he lets himself in.

" Balthazar? long time no see... Um... what brings you here? I thought you were on some documentary tour in London..."

" Tour ended early... Bloody cameraman lost his footing and broke his ankle... Besides Gabriel gave me a call two days ago, inviting me on your trip to Rome, I need a vacation from my job anyway."

" You are?... well that's good to hear, please make yourself at home... oh and please don't call me Cas again, I know Gabriel got everyone into that ridiculous nickname but frankly I don't like it."

Balthazar turns to him with a raised brow, " Someone sounds like he's in a rather cranky mood these days..." he removes his overcoat, resting it on the coat hanger before sauntering to the kitchen and helps himself to a glass of scotch. " So, who's the fine gentlemen sitting there so shyly? a roommate?"

As Evan opened his mouth to answer Castiel immediately cuts in, " Yes he is." Evan gives him a look that clearly spoke ' oh come on will you get out of the closet already '. Castiel step into the kitchen and leans against the counter. "... So how's your father?" he asked, anything to break the silence that had lingered for the past ten seconds.

" I'll talk about that later, introduce me to your friend there... I believe he feels left out of our conversation." Balthazar ganders to Evan, Castiel followed and sees Evan just standing in the middle of the living room with his hands buried in his pockets and staring at his feet.

" I'm sorry... Um Evan this is Balthazar Cunningham, my cousin from my moms side... Balthazar this is Evan Wheeler, he's-"

" By the look in your eyes Evan I'd say you're trying to keep yourself from screaming right now..." Balthazar cuts him off, he then peers to Castiel, " I take you two aren't just friends..."

" What do you mean?" Castiel nervously chuckled, looking away to hide the embarrassed blush on his face.

Balthazar's head fell back with a chortle, " Oh dear Castiel, come on I've known for some time now... I'm no imbecile, I've known you were gay since you were fifteen..." he eased his chuckles, then sipped his beverage.

Castiel was now thrown to a whole new level of what the fuck is going on moment, " ... What? how did you figure it out?..."

" I'd like to know that myself." Evan smirked who now made his way towards them and settles in the chair.

Balthazar sits as well and now looked to Evan, " One christmas in this very house, I was here with my college mate and Castiel had quite an admiration for him... I know this because he told me Castiel wouldn't tear his gaze from him haha... not only that, when no one was around Castiel tried tricking the poor bloke into standing under a mistletoe so he could kiss him.." Balthazar went on telling Evan his evidence of Castiel's gay youth, while Castiel glared daggers at his cousin. God he wanted to strangle him right where he sat, but instead he cuts Balthazar's story short.

" Alright we get it! you know I'm gay, now can we please get ready to head for my dad's?" Castiel stomps out the room to get his coat.

" But I got a call from Anna telling me dinner's gonna be here." Evan stated, Castiel froze at the door... Dinner... here? Castiel turns terrifyingly slow towards the kitchen.

" And why was I not told this earlier?..." he asked.

" Because you never asked if we got any calls..." Evan smiles.

Balthazar laughs to that, " I like him already!"

... Later that evening ...

Dinner is like it has always been for Castiel, full of laughter, small talk, teasing arguments about baseball and who's the better team, questions about jobs and how their week was. Yup, this is what he loved, to be with his family. With his eldest brother Michael, their parents were in their mid twenties when he was born. Michael has a great job being an anchorman for the NY1, on the side he was also a writer but never really published any of his stories, he confessed that it was more to ease his boredom.

The second oldest Lucifer who complained a lot about the corruption in modern day society, war and many other things humanity does wrong. He has his own talk radio explaining government issues and other stuff, Castiel listened in every morning, in a way he agreed on Lucifer's assumptions on health crisis's and how hospitals don't cover people who can't afford insurance and are against free health coverage just so the higher ups can keep putting money into their own pockets. All in all Lucifer is a good guy, when it came to family, he loved everyone more than anyone else, especially Michael and Anna.

Of course the middle child Gabriel, that knuckle-head. He always cracked jokes even at the wrong times, not to mention his daily pranks. Castiel can remember from his childhood the many times Gabriel was yelled at by Anna for hanging a fake spider over her bedroom door, or jumping out the closet to scare Michael, or have Lucifer join in on his shenanigans. Recalling himself chasing Gabriel around the house over the blow horn pranks Gabriel did to wake him up. Those were the good old days.

Then there's Anna, the only girl in the family. She really is a sweetheart to her brothers but mostly to Castiel, she raised him during the time their father was busy working at the mill since their mother passed when she was around eight. She works in town as a veterinarian, loves animals, going out for jogs and helping people around the world. Anna is protective, caring and a good listener. She looked so much like their mother, a complete spitting image of her. Except for her eyes, she got them from their late grandfather. Castiel was the one born with their mother's ocean-like eyes and Anna saw a lot of her in him.

Lastly is their father Jacob Novak, sixty-five years old and still going strong, still a hard worker at the mill. Hell people would mistake him for a fifty year old at how much energy he has at his age, he is fit, healthy, he looked a lot younger than he's supposed to and is still quite the eye candy for women younger and older. Like Anna resembling their mother, Castiel got his looks from his dad, to the strong and wise gaze they had in their eyes to the goofy smile when they laughed.

" So Castiel... how is work at the service center?" Jacob asks before taking a bite of his lasagna.

" It's... okay." he replied.

" That's good... I hear you might be coming to Italy with us, have you decided yet?"

" Yes, I will be going with you."

Gabriel pats at Castiel's back, " Awesome! see Dad I told I'd get him to tag along." he says

Jacob smiles warmly, " That's great... I do hope Evan is willing to come as well."

Evan nervously chuckled, " Are you sure Mr. Novak? I mean, I don't want to impose..."

" I insist Evan, you're my son's good friend after all... and please call me Jacob." he answered.

" Wow... thanks Mr.- Jacob, I'm glad to accept."

Balthazar raised his glass of scotch, " Evviva!" **( Cheers)**

Everyone raised their cups, " Evviva!"

" Watch out Italy... here we come!" Gabriel says, everyone clanged their glasses together in unison.

...

**TBC**

**I really wanted to start this after I finished Sexy Dice but when my thoughts come to me I must type it... I don't know how long it would take to do Chapter 2... I have my finger crossed hoping this one does pretty good... ciao ciao all**


	2. Mile High Disaster

**CHAPTER 2: **Mile High Disaster

**Sorry for the VERY long delay, I wanted to finish Sexy Dice first cause it's a pain going back and forth with stories for me, anyway here is chapter two. A reminder, translations will be in Bold. :)**

... -Monday, Time, 5:30 A.M.- ...

Three miles south of Sicily, overhead at around 5,280 feet and off traffic airlines, the C-17 Globemaster is making its way to U.S. soil. With two dozen soldiers onboard, including the pilots. Along with them was highly classified cargo and a group of scientists.

At the entrance of the cargo area, two Privates stood guard at the door, they held semi-automatic rifles at their sides. Both sat down to have a smoke. The taller man on the left was Charlie O'neal, and the shorter man next to him was a close pal of his, George Radriguez. The buddies were having a conversation on what they thought of the science division and their so called _Top Secret Cargo._

" What do you think they got in there?" George asks, then takes a long drag from his cigarette.

Charlie simply shrugged, " Who knows." he replied.

George sighed and shook his head, " I don't know man, I got a bad feeling about it."

" Oh come on, Radriguez, don't start with the psychic bullshit." his friend whined.

" I never said I was psychic, I just get these gut feelings..."

" Yeah... whatever you say pal.." Charlie chuckled.

" What are you two doing?!" The Privates jolted at the very angry voice of their Sergeant, Dean Winchester. And a few steps behind him was his brother Sam. The Winchester brothers were the army brats, growing up at the base with their father John after their mother died in a horrible fire when they were young. Most of the soldiers feared Dean, mostly because their dad was the Lieutenant. The other reason, they knew Dean was trying to follow John's footsteps, being hard on the Privates and going according to orders and all that. Sam on the other hand was completely opposite of his older brother, he never got along with his dad, they always argued; like any father and son would. Sam was the more friendly type, even for a Corporal.

Charlie and George rose immediately and saluted, " We were just taking a break, sir!" Charlie explained.

Dean steps closer to the Private, his brows then furrowed, " The Army does not pay for slackers... now get back to your posts!" he ordered.

" Sir, yes, sir!" they both replied, doing as they were told.

Dean begins to walk off, and before Sam followed he whispered, " Don't mind him guys, he's just cranky cause he's tired." he then catches up to Dean.

Charlie shook his head, " Horse shit, the guys got a stick up his ass." he says to himself. Charlie then leans against the cold metal wall, re-lighting his cigarette.

" What are you doing?" George whispered.

" Finishing my cigarette, what does it look like I'm doing." Charlie rolls his eyes.

George quickly looks down the direction Dean went, " What if he comes back?"

" What's he gonna do, have his daddy throw me off the plane?"

Concurrently, on the other side of the door, the group of scientists were wandering around checking if their cargo was securely grounded. There were seventeen small plastic containers, could be weapons, or whatever, who the hell knew... well besides them. The soldiers had the slightest clue, all they were told was to pick up the package; no questions asked. So what is it exactly that the science division has in their grasp?

One of the younger scientists heads over to the darker corner of the cargo room, and there strapped tightly down was a six foot metal box. The young man stood there, a little nervous as to what's inside it. Earlier that day he's heard noises come from it, animalistic like sounds. His fellow colleagues informed him it was an animal test subject, which he knew wasn't true because it sounded nothing like any animal he's heard of before. He moves closer cautiously, kneeling down to make sure it's secured. Then, curiosity gets the better of him, he takes a peek inside through one of the small gaps. And crouched at the corner, was a shadowy figure sitting quietly. He couldn't describe what it was. And whatever it was that's inside gave a low growl, lifting it's head and takes a whiff of the air, catching the young man's scent. It's head snapped back, getting him in it's sights. Within seconds it launched itself against the box with a loud inhuman squeal, and the young man fell to the floor with a thud.

He watched with wide eyes as it resumed slamming itself against the cage, the box began to sway back and forth, the straps which are the only things holding it down was starting to give away... Until... with one last bump the straps tore, the heavy metal gave a loud creak as it tips over, the man rolls to the side in time before it landed right on him. A loud bang catches the other scientists attention, then there's an ear piercing metal on metal scratching, and before they knew it the metal container comes sliding there way, knocking over the fragile plastic canisters. They scrambled to get out of it's way to avoid being crushed. The six foot, nearly three hundred pound container then crashes into the side of the plane.

The panic was thought to be over as the scientists moved closer to be sure the subject was still contained, let alone, alive. They are suddenly startled by another loud thump. Then there's another bang, and another and another. The scientists begin to back away, their subject is trying to break free. The banging stops... It gets deathly quiet... Then there was a growl. Suddenly the _subject_ leaps out a hole from the side in a flash, landing onto one of the scientists. The man screams from the top of his lungs as it rips through his skin like paper, blood and flesh scattering across the floor.

" CONTAINMENT BREACH!" one of them hollered. All of them tussle their way up the steps, trying to reach the door. Out of nowhere another one of their own is leapt on and they all scream in terror.

All the ruckus makes the Privates open the door, " What the hell's going on in there?!" Charlie yelled. The scientists didn't even bother answering his question, they just ran for their lives. " What?... you guys saw a rat or someth- HOLY FUCK!" both Charlie and George peered inside and all they see is someone being dragged down the stairs, covered in blood and crying for help. What really surprised them was what was attacking him. It looked like a man, but it sure as hell didn't walk like one, it was crawling on all fours. It's skin was a sickly grey-ish pale, it's eyes were bloodshot and had no light in them; they looked dead. It was very skinny, as if it had starved for weeks. It's veins were black. It's teeth were rotten and it's gums were seeping dark blood.

With it's mouth the creature tears the scientists throat out, digging it's long jagged nails into the obtained flesh as it feeds. The Privates just stared, not knowing what to do. It's like a horror movie yet it's all real. But looking too long, they are spotted by it. It's eyes locked on Charlie's. It hunched over then gave a warning hiss. Charlie carefully raises his rifle. The creature doesn't stir, it stands its ground and growls.

" Shoot it man..." George says quietly. Charlie took aim, his hands were shaking. The subject slowly crawls forward, baring it's blood stained teeth. " SHOOT IT!" he yells, that sets off the creature and it leaps toward them. Charlie pulls the trigger, but it clicks, the idiot forgot to take off the safety. The creature crashes into Charlie, knocking him to the ground. Charlie uses his gun to his advantage, pressing it against the creature to keep its snapping mouth away from his face.

" SHIT!.. GEORGE GET THIS THING OFF ME!"

George lifts his gun, aims, then fires, hitting it in its leg. It shrieks painfully, but that didn't stop it, still struggling it's mouth toward Charlie's flesh. George then fired at its heart, this time it stumbled, wheezing heavily but it would not die. " What the hell is this thing?!"

" Fuck it..." Charlie reaches for his pistol, crams the barrel in its mouth and lets off a few rounds. The creature falls limp against his chest. he shoves it off. Charlie looks up at George.

" Man... that was close-"

" Rraaggh!" George is suddenly pounced on. He screams, he can feel teeth and nails scrapping the meat off his back, the pain so excruciating.

He reaches out to Charlie, " HELP ME!"

" Oh shit!" Charlie yelps, it was one of the scientists, who was supposedly dead. The Private gazes into the cargo room only to spot three more of them. They see Charlie and they let out a shriek. Charlie hightails it down the hall, he cuts to the left, bolting down another hall. He can hear them keeping up with him. Charlie sprints as fast as his legs could carry him. Promptly as he made a right, he bumps into Dean.

" Private, what the hell's going on, I heard gunfire."

" You tell me Sergeant, I just fucking watched my best friend get eaten alive!" Charlie blurts out, complete and utter fear written on his face.

" Calm down, what happened?"

" Calm down?! I'm being chased by freaks of nature and you want me to calm down?!... Sergeant, we were carrying a damn zombie!"

" Raaaghh!" loud screams and gunfire reach their ears, ones un-human and others from the crew members.

" Ah crap here they come."

" Alright, get back to the cargo area, I'll inform the others." Charlie had to suppress himself from falling over wailing in fear, he didn't wish to go back there but orders are orders, so he nods nervously and runs off. Dean pulls out his 9mm, he stays close to the wall as he walks cautiously to the corner. He peeks out. Dean's eyes widened at the sight, his own troops were laying lifeless. A young man in a lab coat was bent over one of the soldiers bodies, feasting on his intestines. The creature catches Dean's scent, it bent its back in an unnatural way to look behind it, it searched for Dean but could not see him. It twisted its body again, still sniffing the air, crawling to Dean's direction. Dean backed away slowly, his gun raised. Dean turns a corner just in time before the thing could see him. Dean then runs the other way.

" Raaugh!" It hears Dean's footsteps and rushes after him.

Dean swiftly turns and fires two rounds, the creature speedily jumped onto the ceiling, dodging the shots, " Son.. of a... bitch.." Dean's mouth gaped, he's seen plenty of Zombie movies, but this... this was something else. The fiend hisses. Their eyes were locked, waiting for the other to make a move. Dean carefully steps back, and the creature takes a step forward. " Alright..." Dean leans to the right, observing it's movement, and it leant to the left. Dean aims at it again, as soon as he did that, it pulled itself closer to the ceiling, as if ready to pounce. Dean takes a deep breath, ' _I gotta time this right._' he thought, knowing it moves fast. He pulls the trigger, just as he predicted it jumps down, Dean shifts the gun and fires again, getting it directly between the eyes. Dean grinned, proud of his marksmanship. But there was no time to stand around, the gunfire might have attracted more of them. So Dean turns to the wall, switching the speakers on.

" Attention all crew members, meet up in the cargo bay immediately, I repeat, meet up in the cargo bay..." with that done, Dean makes a run for it down the hall.

Within moments, whatever crew members that were left, which were only four, including Sam and their father, showed up. Charlie though, still shaken up from before he was sitting against the wall mumbling to himself. " It just ripped George apart, I couldn't do anything... I just ran."

" What the hell is he talking about?" John refers the question to Dean as soon as he arrives.

" Zombies, Lieutenant... I'm talking about zombies!" Charlie replied.

" That's impossible.." Sam adds.

" Oh yeah, why don't you tell that to the fuckers eating everyone." he retorts.

" Enough, Private!" John ordered. Echoing shrieks suddenly reverberate, all had their attention toward the stairs, it sounded like there were even more and they were coming their way. " Alright, we make a stand off... everybody load up!" The four Privates, Sam and Dean primed their rifles. John prepared his .357 Magnum pistol. The inhuman screams were growing even closer. They all take aim. The roars sounded again. The privates were growing more nervous. " Steady men..." they waited. From the corner crawled out one of them, sniffing the air, it was one of the unlucky troops. Intestines dragging across the floor, the right half of his face was clawed to the bone, the eye barely in its sack. John's eyes widen with alarm, an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, but he breathed that sensation away. " Steady..." The creature peers at them, baring it's fangs and hissed. It then rose it's head, letting out a few short sounds, as if barking. Soon enough more of them gathered by the first, there were twenty seven of them, staring them down like starving vultures.

Charlie gulped, his nerves were on edge, beads of sweat dropped from his brow. His hands were still shaking. That anxiety escalated as he saw his best friend crawl out with the others. That is when he couldn't take it anymore and opens fire, followed by the other Privates. " DIE YOU BASTARDS!" The undead brutes leapt and crawled the walls, bouncing in all directions. Many were hit by the barrage of bullets, yet they pressed forward at high speeds. Dean took quick aim at one as it pounced its way at him. Dean volleyed the sucker dead, then swiftly returned fire onto the oncoming attack. There were too many and their movements were extraordinarily swift.

From the flight deck the two pilots could hear all that gunfire. They've heard Sergeant Dean's message, yet they didn't understand what was really happening. What they did do was lock the door, believing they are under siege. How wrong they were.

" Lieutenant this is the Captain, What's going on out there? " The captain tries seeking information on the current situation. A few moments pass but there's no response. " Lieutenant, can you hear me?..." again nothing. " Hello, can anyone hear me?"

" Have we lost all communications?" the Co-pilot looks over to the Captain who sighed.

" I hope not..." he replied. The Captain then tries to send out a distress call. " This is the C-17 Globemaster requesting an emergency landing, please respond..." he waits a little, and all he gets is static. He gives it another try, " This is the C-17 Globemaster requesting for an emergency landing, if anyone out there can hear me, respond..." again he hears nothing but static. He pinches the bridge of his nose, his patience growing thin. " God dammit someone answer!" There's suddenly a loud thud at the door, the Captain peers to a screen above him, with a camera set outside he could see who was standing at the other side that door. He sees a middle aged man in a lab coat, he looked terrified and out of breath. He was clenching at his forearm, blood soaking his sleeve. " He's injured, let him in and get the medical kit."

The Co-pilot rose, gets to the door and lets the man in. He then guides the frightened scientist to a chair, " Easy, it's alright you're safe now..." he tries to comfort him.

The man was really scared stiff, staring at the floor wide eyed and babbling random things to himself. " We never meant for this to happen... it spreads so rapidly... they're too smart.. too fast... they can't be stopped..." he went on and on, confusing the Pilots.

" What's he going on about?" The Captain narrowed his brows.

" No idea.." the Co-pilot replied, then looked at the man's arm which he was still clenching at, " Here, let me take a look at that..." he removed his hand from the wound, blood starts gushing out heavily, " Oh my god..." it was a deep bite mark, hell, there's was no skin or muscle left on it. The Pilot opens the med kit, quickly setting work on the wound before the man bled to death. While he did that the scientist kept mumbling.

" We were testing on a new weapon..." he said. Seems he was trying to confess something to the Pilots.

The Co-pilot stops momentarily and looks into the man's eyes. " What kind of weapon?..."

" A gas... it was meant to eradicates the brain, killing the target... but-" he take a shaky breath, "... but instead, it reanimates brain function..."

" What do you mean?"

" There was a leak at our lab... one of our own was exposed to the gas...- it- it changed him... He became viscous, like an animal... we managed to contain him, we wanted to take him back with us to see what went wrong, to try curing him... but... there was a breach, he got loose... and whatever caused his change is affecting everyone else..." he began to shake.

" How?... how is it affecting the others?" the Pilot makes an effort to get the answer out of him.

" It's the- ah.." he winces, a sharp burning sensation shoots up his body, he grips at his now trembling arm. His wrist begins to go numb, feeling pins and needles at the tip of his fingers that traveled up to his neck. That burning becomes worse, his entire being felt as if it were on fire. The man yelps at the top of his lungs, falling sideways and to the ground. The Co-Pilot jumps back in surprise. " Gah!... Urg!" his body began to jerk violently, his eyes rolled all the way back, foam and blood seeped from his mouth. " Raugh!... AHH!" the sounds of his screams were changing. The pilots watched in horror as the man's arms and legs slammed and jerked against the floor vigorously. The man arched his back and gave a loud cry, " RRAAAUGGH!" then he suddenly went limp.

The Pilots stared at his motionless frame, flabbergasted as to what they've just witnessed. The Co-pilot, now scared out of his wits, moves closer, wanting to check if he was still alive. As he reached out his hand, about to check his pulse, the man's eyes snapped open. " HOLY SHIT!" he backs away instantly.

The man rolls onto his hands and feet, bloodshot eyes glaring into the Co-pilot's. He sloped his head to the side, giving a soft growl... then, " Raaugh!" he shrieked, charging forward. The Co-pilot ducked forward as it pounced, it slams into the Captain's chair. It's attention switches to a new target. " Aauggh!" it squeals, now digging it's nails into the Captain's shoulders.

" AHH!" The Captain swerves the plane to the right just as it was about to bite into his neck, the Co-pilot holds onto a rail while the creature slams against the wall. They both pull out their guns and open fire. The creature hurtles itself onto the wall, quickly crawling over the Captain and hisses. They stared in utter shock. " What in gods name-" it leaps onto him, knocking the gun out of his grip before he had a chance to shoot it. The fiend buries it's teeth into his neck, biting down and rips out the main artery. The Captain twitches with shock, blood gurgling from his mouth.

Horror-stricken at what he's seen the Co-pilot fires at the creature, completely missing it by a foot. The creature looks up at him, it crawls over the seat. The Captain's limp body falls against the wheel, causing the plane to go for a nosedive. The creature then bounds at the Co-pilot as he falls forth.

As the plane began to drop everyone in the cargo area, living and undead slid across the metal floor. The troops quickly grabbed onto straps and whatever they can to cease their fall. " Everyone grab a parachute, we're evacuating!" John shouts. Everyone lined up against the wall, holding onto the railing to pull themselves up towards the back of the plane. Not far behind them the creatures were climbing as well. Dean, who was at the end of the line, swings his pistol back, shooting those that got to close to the team. When they get to the back end, they grab and put on their parachutes. John pulls the lever, the back starts to open. As they waited, all stood their ground gunning down the fiends. " Go, go, go!" John motions them to jump when the door finally opens. The Privates leapt out one by one, followed by John, Sam and Dean. While the troops are safely making a slow descent, they watched the C-17 Globemaster plummet to the sea.

The plane slams into the ocean, the windows explode from the impact, water began pouring inside. The creatures tried getting away from the rapidly rising water, but they were soon dragged down into the abyss, along with the Globemaster.

" Well... I hope you're all in the mood to get wet cause it's a two mile swim to shore." John informs his troops.

" One question... What were the science division thinking about carrying something that dangerous back home?" Sam asked.

" Who cares Sammy, at least it's all over." Dean replied.

... That's what they thought...

... -Time, 7:00 A.M.- ...

The sun is just over the horizon off the beach of Sicily. It's cool and breezy at this time, which was great for little early-bird Angelo to go for a walk, burying his tiny feet into the sand with every step. He is around seven years of age, short brown hair and brown eyes. At his side he carried a stick, whipping it around like a sword. Wrapped over his eyes was a black mask, and around his neck a matching cape, with a hat to finish it. He was pretending to be a character from a movie he loved dearly, making swishing sounds as he waved the stick up and down, side to side. Angelo skips down the beach, enjoying himself in his fantasy world, when he suddenly trips over something solid. Little Angelo pouts, rubbing his knee, he turns over to see what it was he tripped on. There it was, half buried in the sand, a shiny silver box.

Angelo looks around, wondering if anyone had dropped it. He squirms closer to it, and he begins digging it up. He pulls it out, then looks at it with fascination. He wondered if there were any toys inside, so he opens the box. Inside were six cylindrical canisters. Angelo curiously takes one out, he had no idea what it was. It surely wasn't any toy. He gets up and makes his way home with it, thinking his parents might know. Angelo reaches his house not far from the beach, he slides the canister through a doggy door, then he crawls in after. He walks to the kitchen where his parents sat eating breakfast.

" Angelo, quante volte ti ho detto di non andare al mare in questo momento?" **( Angelo, how many times have I told you not to go to the beach right now?)** his mother shook her head.

" Ci dispiace, mamma.." **( Sorry, Mom.)** Angelo apologized.

" Cos'hai lì, figliolo?" **( What you got there, son?)** his father beamed at him. Angelo shows him the canister, his dad takes it. Putting on his glasses to get a better look at it.

" Sapete di cosa si tratta, papà?" **(Do you know what it is, dad?)** Angelo asked.

His father lightly shook his head, " Non lo so ... dove l'hai trovato?" **( I do not know... Where did you find it?)**

" Era in una scatola, sepolta nella sabbia.." **( It was in a box, buried in the sand.)** he answered.

His father continued to examine it. His mother then smiles, " Angelo, vai a lavarti le mani, la colazione è pronta." **( Angelo, go wash your hands, breakfast is ready.)** and little Angelo runs off.

The father finally finds a way to open the cylinder on the top, he gives it a twist, he hears a click. The top slides up, a red light starts blinking on the side. He inches closer. Without warning, a burst of smoke sprays in his face. He jumps out of his chair in surprise, coughing heavily. The smoke engulfs the room. The mother and father couldn't breathe, their lungs filling up with the gas. The father clenched at his chest, beginning to choke. The mother falls to the floor, gasping for air. The father goes down as well, tugging at his shirt, fighting for air. He stretched out a hand to his son, who was at the top of the stairs gaping with panic. The father struggles to utter something to Angelo, " eseguire..." **( Run...) **he coughed, he gave a few gasps, then became motionless.

Angelo didn't move an inch, even as the smoke cleared away. He hiccuped, tears welling in his eyes. "... Mamma?..." he quietly called out for her, but she didn't respond. Angelo looks to his dad, "... Papa?..." sadly no answer came from him either. His bottom lip begins to tremble, he wiped the tears from his eyes, and was too scared to go down the stairs. Angelo's dad suddenly sat upright, startling the boy. His mother too sprung up, they were looking around randomly. "... Mamma, Papa?..." their heads snap at his direction, Angelo jolts a little. He noticed a change in his parents, their eyes weren't normal. They stared at Angelo, rising to their feet. The boy felt a great urge to run away, because by the looks in their eyes they weren't themselves. " Papa..." Angelo says. The father sloped his head to the side. The boy takes a step back, the floorboards give a loud creak.

" Raaaughh!" the father and mother shriek, bolting toward Angelo.

" AAAH!" Angelo yelped, racing down the hall. He makes it into his bedroom, slams the door shut and locks it. While he searched desperately for someplace to hide, at the other side of the door his parents were trying to break in. Angelo finally takes his chances under his bed, quickly sliding in the small space. Angelo refrains himself from screaming once the door slams open, covering his mouth with his hands. His parents step in, they search for him, the mother goes in the closet while the father looked elsewhere. The dad peers at his surroundings, sniffing the air. His head then turns towards the bed and growls. Angelo squeezed his eyes shut, staying as quiet as he could. His dad inched closer, lowering himself on all fours. He reached out and grabbed the sheets. Angelo's heart pounded against his chest.

The father is just about to lift the sheets up, when... " Ehi, guarda dove metti i piedi!" **( Hey, watch where you're going!) **Someone hollers from outside, getting the dad and mother's attention to the window. They moved to find the source of the voice, they spot two people bickering on the street. The father gives a roar before smashing through the glass, bounding onto a car below, then sprang at the closet person he sees. The mother follows behind, chasing a helpless woman down the road.

Still hidden under his bed, Angelo covered his ears to block out the echoing screams, tears streaming down his cheeks, shaking in fear. He prayed for it to stop... but it only progressed.

...

**To Be Continued**


	3. The Calm Before The Storm

**CHAPTER 3: **The Calm Before The Storm

... - Rome, Italy- Time, 9:30 A.M.-...

It had been a long, tiring, boring flight to Italy for Castiel. And for two reasons. One, his ass had fallen asleep no longer than an hour ago, and second Gabriel had talked his ear off the whole ride. Castiel seriously thinks his brother might have a hyperactivity disorder or something, either that or he's just plain annoying. Anyway, upon arrival to the platform, Castiel's eagerness to go sight seeing only heightened. He's always dreamt of going to Italy since he was in High School. Now here he is, and that dream can be scratched off his long wish list.

He and Evan kept up with the others to the baggage area to pick up their luggage. With everything in check, in no time they were outside waiting for their shuttle bus to the Hotel.

" Can you believe it, we're actually here.." Castiel says, then pulled up his camera, taking a few photos of the scenery.

" Hey, save some film for when we're on the road, there's plenty of places we'll see on the way." Anna chuckled.

Castiel shrugged, " Good point." he puts the camera back in its case.

Within twenty minutes their ride arrived, pulling to the curb. A young tanned man steps out the van. He had short dark curly hair, slicked back with a little too much hair jell, but it suited him well, he had a light peach fuzz, light hazel eyes and wore a basic T-shirt with the Hotel name on the left breast pocket and gray skinny jeans. " Hello, are you the Novak family?" he asked, a strong accent in his deep voice.

" Yes we are." Jacob answered politely.

" Pleasure to meet you all, I'm Antonio and I'll be your driver. Please take your seats while I handle your bags." Antonio opens the doors and gestures them to go in.

" Thank you." Anna smiled, handing her bags over to the driver, then sits in the middle row. Balthazar, Gabriel and Michael get in the back. Lucifer sits next to Anna and Jacob takes the passenger seat, which left the row in front of Anna and Lucifer free for Castiel and Evan to take, and they get in.

The driver soon hops in. " Would you like a tour before I take you to the hotel?" he asked kindly.

" Oh, not today. We plan to settle in first." Jacob replied. Antonio nodded, started the engine and drives off.

... Later On ...

" Today's very nice out... a little too humid though." Anna says as she straps her hair into a ponytail. It hadn't taken them long to settle into their rooms, and quickly dress up to go to the beach. It's a cloudless afternoon, so why not spend that time outdoors.

" Eh, it isn't that bad." Balthazar adds, laying back onto his towel and puts on his sunglasses. " Mind waking me in ten minutes Gabriel?"

" I wouldn't ask him that, he tends to get lost when he's enjoying anything with sugar in it." Castiel suggested. Jacob chortled to that. It was true, from time to time Gabriel usually focused on what he ate and not on what's going on.

" Hm?" Gabriel looks over to them at the mention of his name, completely clueless of what they had just talked about. He licked his lips, he was in the middle of trying to devour a chocolate ice-cream.

" My point exactly." Castiel snorted, the others laughed along.

Gabriel narrows his brows, " What?... what's so funny?"

" Nothing, please continue making out with the cone." Evan chuckled.

" Hey!" Gabriel glared at him sharply, " Shut up..." then resumes his concentration on the ice-cream.

Evan laughed slightly, shaking his head. He then gazes out to the open water, easily spotting Michael and Lucifer playing volleyball. It looked more fun than sitting around and be cooked under the sun. So Evan hopped onto his feet, " I'm going for a dip, anyone care to join?" he asks as he discarded his tank top and sandals. Sweat was clearly visible around each shape of his muscles, illustrating just how well built he was; it is one trait Castiel was widely attracted to about him.

Balthazar noticed his young cousin was too busy staring at Evan's body. He smirked, " Why don't you go in, Castiel?" He spoke up, nudging at Castiel's thigh with his foot. Castiel jumps a little, he hadn't realized he was admiring his boyfriend's body. He shifted his gaze to his father, who seemed to have drifted off to sleep, Gabriel and Anna were already heading into the water.

"... Sure, let's go." Castiel rose, removing his sandals. Then he suddenly bolts towards the ocean, " Race you!" He hollers.

"HEY!" Evan quickly follows behind, " No fair! you're cheating!" he shouts. He leaps over the waves in order to catch up to Castiel. Reaching out his arms, Evan sweeps him off his feet with ease and throws him in. Evan bends over laughing as Castiel comes up spitting out a mouthful of water, his expression was twisted with disgust while he tried getting rid of the salty taste from his tongue. Castiel glares at Evan with a smirk, then splashes water at Evan's face. That didn't seem to bother the man, he simply slaps water back at him. Gabriel seemed to have wanted to join in the fun because he charges at Castiel, tackling him under water, bumping into Anna in the process.

" Careful guys, you might hurt someone." she chuckled.

Castiel rose up and quickly wrapped his arms around Gabriel's waist, with his older brother's smaller stature Castiel was able to toss him up at least three feet in the air with no problem. Gabriel splashes flat on his stomach, he'll be feeling that later on. Castiel turns to his sister, " Tell that to Gabriel." he huffed.

" Oh yeah?!" Gabriel leaps on Castiel's back, the sudden add of weight makes him trip forward but before going face first in the water, he grabs the back of Gabriel's legs and tugs them. Since Gabriel didn't have a firm grip on him, he slipped off Castiel's back like a rag doll.

The day went by, with loads of fun and plenty of laughs. Everyone had a great time on their first day... Well, besides Balthazar. Poor guy accidently fell asleep and ended up with sunburn on his back. Not to mention receiving a few flat hands on those burns from Gabriel, of course Balthazar would be cranky. Day soon becomes night and the Novak family were together in a room playing some board games they brought along from home. In exception of Castiel and Evan.

... At The Bar ...

" Can I get another bottle please." Castiel slurred out he is obviously drunk. Usually he drank only when he was stressed out, but tonight was different, he was drinking to have a good time. And with Evan at his side, the amount he drank was supervised by him. Though the other man was just as hammered, Evan knew self control. Gripping onto his beer Castiel turned around to Evan, " Do you k-know... what I'm gonna do when w-we get when the weeks over?" Castiel blinks a few times to focus his vision.

" What's that?" Evan smirked, doing his best not to chuckle at what a funny sight Castiel was.

" I'm gonna march into my bosses office... and s-say, I quit..." He then throws his head back to finish his beer, nearly falling off his chair, " Whoa..." he catches himself... barely, if not for Evan's help.

" Okay, I think you're done for tonight." Evan laughs. He pays the bartender then tends to Castiel, placing a hand around his waist and his arm around his neck. They took the elevator since Evan wouldn't be able to drag his boyfriend up four flights of stairs. When they reach their floor, he turns Castiel to the left, Evan started walking to their room at the end of the hall. He opens the door and turns on the light.

" I got it from here..." Castiel mumbles, his cheeks were flared with drunkenness.

" Alright." Evan lets him go, but keeps a close eye on him just in case. Not surprising, the first thing Castiel did when he took a step forward was trip over his own feet and fall. Evan chuckled slightly, " You're so clumsy." he said, then pulls him up from the ground. He helps him toward the bed.

Evan too trips, but not on his feet, it was Castiel's he tripped over. Onto the bed they stumbled, both laughing as they fell onto the mattress. Looking down Evan found Castiel staring straight into his eyes. The look he gave him made him shiver with excitement. Then Castiel gave him one of those smiles that would make his heart melt and turn into vapor. Still staring at the other's eyes, Evan drew closer, mere centimeters from Castiel's lips. The gap between them close. At first their kiss was slow and filled with passion, then gradually intensified with lust. Castiel didn't say anything, he was instantly in the moment. Evan's warm lips on his, nipping ever so lightly on his bottom lip, his tongue pushing into his mouth. Castiel didn't stop him. For a long time he has wanted Evan to be his first, but Castiel's shyness of going beyond intimate touches always made him hesitate. And he thought, perhaps being drunk would ease that anxiety.

Castiel intertwines his hands into Evan's hair and pulls him forward. Evan thought of it to be sexy and found himself even more turned on. Pulling back from the kiss Castiel followed him up so that they were sitting. Evan then runs his hands along Castiel's torso and then put his hands at the rim of his shorts. Grabbing it, he pulled them off of him. He licked his lips as he looked up and down Castiel's perfect body. Castiel smiled and leaned in for a kiss, which Evan obliged to. Then Castiel tugged off his shirt, tossing it on the side of the bed, he then quickly undid his shorts, pulling them over his legs so that all Evan was wearing was his boxers. Castiel suddenly rolls him over, so that he was on top.

Castiel starts licking Evan's chest and sucking on his nipples. Evan gave a small moan at the pleasure. Then he begins rubbing Evan's hard cock through his boxers, making him gasp. Evan reaches up, putting his arms on Castiel's back, he holds him closer to his frame. His arousal pressing against Castiel's thigh. He then forces Castiel back down on the bed. Their kiss was messy and hungry. Evan starts rubbing Castiel's own erection. Castiel let out a small sound and grabbed onto the sheets. Evan trails his tongue down his chest and stomach, then kisses the lining of his hips.

" Evan..." Castiel breathed.

Pulling his body up along Castiel's he kissed him on the cheek, running his tongue against his bottom lip. Castiel's legs slithered around his waist, he really needed Evan, wanted him... for the first time. Evan could see that need in his eyes.

" Are you sure about this?" Evan asks so sweetly, not wanting to rush him.

Castiel's cheeks reddened deeply, "... yes..." he whispered.

" Hey Castiel, you wouldn't believe what Michael did-OH-MY-GOD!" Gabriel bursts into the room unannounced, catching the couple naked on the bed.

" GABRIEL!" Castiel jumps, accidently pushing Evan off the bed who landed on the floor with a loud thud. Castiel covers himself with the blanket.

" Ow..." Evan rubs his forehead. He then scrambles for his shorts and puts them on.

" I uh... wow um..." Gabriel stammered.

" Gabriel, please don't tell anyone." Castiel pleads.

" I didn't know you two were... together."

" We've been dating for over a year." Evan says, getting up from the floor.

" Oh..."

" The point is to not tell anyone about our relationship.."

" Really?!" Gabriel raised his brows.

" Not a peep!" he retorted.

" Why not?" Gabriel persists.

At this point it was Castiel's turn to be speechless, " Um... well..." He sighs and shakes his head, " I.. I don't know."

" He's worried that because of your families religion you wouldn't accept him." Evan explains for him.

Gabriel narrowed his brows, blinked a few times, then began to laugh. " Castiel, you're my brother... just because you're gay won't make me hate you."

"..." Both Evan and Castiel were dumbstruck by Gabriel's response.

"... Guys... I had a gay friend back in high school and I didn't care... Why would it change my opinion about you?"

Castiel couldn't help but smile, "... Wow... That's good to know... I just hope everyone else says the same.. thanks Gabriel... But.." He points a finger at him, " I come out to the others on my own... no going blabbing about it, got it?"

Gabriel raises his index finger and middle finger, " Scouts honor... good night then." Gabriel reaches for the door knob, " Oh yeah Michael was-"

" OUT!" they both yelled.

" Okay." Gabriel quickly leaves, closing the door behind him.

Castiel falls back against the pillow with an annoyed sigh, that's the second time the couple was interrupted. And now the mood was gone. Evan slides into bed next to Castiel. They both laid there quietly, cuddling in each other's arms. " Note to self, lock the door.." Evan sighs, Castiel chuckles. Evan gazes at his lover, " I've always been wondering about something..."

" What?" Castiel looks up at him.

" Your brother, Lucifer... Did your parents really give him that name?- I mean, I hope I'm not being offensive asking that."

Castiel buried his face into Evan's chest laughing. " No... his name is Louis, we gave him that nickname cause he was a troublemaker growing up, the name just grew on him."

"... Oh, well that answers everything." with that said, the couple drift to sleep.

... Three Days Later ...

The Novak family had the greatest time in the past few days. Two days ago they visited the Roman Colosseum, and boy did Castiel have a field day, taking pictures with his siblings, his dad, Balthazar and Evan in front of the ancient structure. The day before yesterday they all joined on a tour in the Theatre of Marcellus, it was another amazing time spent learning about the historic events of these monuments. And the other day they've had their second tour at the Basilica of Maxentius.

Today, well, everyone was together having lunch at the La Luna nel Porto, they talked on which places to visit after they ate. Lucifer suggested they stop by the Piazza del Popolo for an afternoon walk, take in the sites, have a few photos taken. Michael added that they should also go to the public park.

Their father agreed to both ideas. " Ease down you two, we have plenty of time to see other places... Louis, Michael, I think it's an amazing idea to go for that walk, but we'll do that another time... today's Gabriel's turn to choose." Jacob chuckled. It was a common tradition in the family, during trips, the parent always chose first, then the offspring from oldest to youngest picked what they would do for the day.

Everyone looked over to Gabriel.

" Well... we've been to tours and all that, but... I know dad would love to go deep sea fishing." Gabriel recommended. The look he got in response from Jacob made him smile.

" That sounds like fun, Son." Jacob said.

" Awesome, I've already booked for a boat this morning, which is why I chose this restaurant because right across the street our ride will be waiting." Gabriel grinned with excitement.

" That's sweet of you to do this for Dad... and you paid for the boat yourself?" Anna asked.

" Well... I had some help from Balthazar.. anyway, we'll be joining other people for a short tour, after that we head to the best fishing grounds _and_ we'll be dropped off on shore to enjoy a delicious fish dinner on the beach cooked by the Captain himself." giving the details of their next trip only made everyone more excited about it.

" What are we sitting around for, we've finished lunch, now let's go have fun..." Jacob announced. " Check please." he called for the waiter.

To the harbor they went, letting Gabriel lead them to the pier where they met up with two people. Before them was an old thirty-three foot boat that is meant for deep sea fishing, with a twelve foot beam. On the side of the boat it read Grazia **(Grace)**. They waited around a bit for the Captain to arrive.

" Ah, welcome everyone.." A short tubby man pokes out from the cockpit, he wore a colorful button down shirt and beige cargo shorts. He was fairly bald and had a bushy mustache. The man climbs off the boat to greet everybody, " I'm the Captain, but you all can call me Virgilio." he shakes their hands. He turns to the boat, " Pietro!... Pietro, vieni qui ora, i nostri clienti sono arrivati." **( Peter.. Peter, come out here now, our customers have arrived.)** he calls, and from the cockpit a young boy comes out, he looked in his mid to late teens.

" Sì, padre?" **( Yes, father?)** Pietro replied.

" Dai, non si limitano a stare lì, issare l'ancora." **( Come on, do not just stand there, hoist the anchor.) **Virgilio turns back to the others, " Please, get on board and we'll be off in a few minutes." with that said Virgilio moved along to untie the boat from the dock while everyone climbed aboard. And in no time the Captain was back onboard and they were setting sail out to open water.

Virgilio first takes them on that tour Gabriel mentioned just off the coast. Of course to Castiel, nothing really seemed more interesting than the distant view of Rome, so beautiful, so calming, the smell of the ocean filling his senses. Heck, who wouldn't enjoy something like this? He leaned on the port side railing, too mesmerized by the sight to pay any attention to Virgilio's historical lecture. A scenery like that needed to be added to his collection, so Castiel pulls up a Canon AE-1 Program camera, a top favorite out of his other ones that was given to him by his father when he was ten. He then begins stepping around to get a perfect angle to take the picture. After a few shots Castiel moved towards the stern of the boat, taking photos every now and then of his family having a good time, and of course, one Gabriel eating candy, as usual.

" Hey, you brought mom's old camera?" Castiel turns to Anna's voice, she walks up and observes as Castiel resumed, " I'm surprised they still sell film for it, that's gotta be at least forty years old."

Castiel smiled softly, looking over to Anna, " Yeah, but I know a guy that sells them back home."

" Hmm.." Anna nodded. " Do you know what I realized?..." she asked.

" What?"

Anna takes the camera from him, " That you're not in your photos much." she then takes a picture of him, " You should have more of yourself in it too you know." she hands it back to him.

" I guess you're right." he chuckled.

" Ladies and gentlemen." Virgilio calls for everyones attention, " I hope you enjoyed the short tour, now please be seated as I take you to the fishing grounds." All took their seats as they head further out to the ocean.

Meanwhile below deck, the Captain's son is lounging around, sketching in his little book while listening to music on his MP3 player. But what he was supposed to be doing was listen to the weather report on the radio. ' _Questo solo in, Stiamo ricevendo segnalazioni di una tempesta tropicale formando dieci miglia a ovest d'Italia. La tempesta è in arrivo verso le 07:00... essere consigliato-_' **( This just in, we are receiving reports of a tropical storm forming ten miles west of Italy. The storm is coming around 07:00... Be advised-) **The report is unheard by Peter from his loud techno music, missing out on very important information that is needed to cease the trip.

...

At four and a half miles south-west of the main land the Grazia was anchored down and everyone is having a blast catching some fish. Anna and Balthazar are enjoying a little swim, and Castiel is getting numbers of photos taken. Jacob, Michael, Lucifer and the two other people were the only ones getting their catch.

However, while they were having a good time, the Captain was in the cockpit. Virgilio had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind, wondering why his boat was the only one out here, the area would usually be swarmed with fishing boats. As he steps outside he immediately noticed that something was wrong. The light breeze has stopped, the air grew dead calm and very hot. He gazes up to the sky, the clouds that were gathering were almost completely black. " Oh mio dio." **( Oh my God.) **Virgilio said under his breath. A terrible storm was brewing. The Captain rushed down below deck only to spot his son not doing as he was asked to do. Virgilio marched up and slaps the sketch book from his hands, " In particolare mi detto di ascoltare le previsioni del tempo! Non hai mai mi ascolti!" **( I specifically told you to listen to the weather forecast! You never listen to me!) **he yelled right as he yanked the headphones off Peter's ears, " Ora, arrivare fin lassù e issate l'ancora, ce ne andiamo!" **( Now, get up there and hoist the anchor, we're leaving!) **he ordered, then ran back to the upper deck. " I'm sorry everyone, but we need to cut this trip short, please get onboard we have to go."

" What's going on?" Jacob asked. And his answer was replied by a monstrous clap of thunder. Jacob reaches out to his daughter, " Anna, Balthazar get on the boat now!" and they both swam up, Jacob and Michael help them up. Virgilio gets into the cockpit and starts the engine, while his son rushed to the front of the boat and begins to wheel in the anchor.

The longer they stalled, the worser the storm grew. Winds intensify, and waves start to swell. " Everyone get in a life-jacket!" Virgilio hollered out the window. They scurried about, grabbing the safety vests and getting into them, strapping them on good and tight. " Pietro, affrettatevi!" **( Peter, hurry up!) **

" Vado più veloce che posso!" **( I'm going as fast as I can!) **Peter yelled back.

Then all of a sudden the tempest exploded from the sky. The waves crashed into the Grazia like a semi-truck. The wind roared like thunder. They all could hardly stand up against the fierce gale. A thick blanket of rain began to shower down on them, a haze from crashing waves made it hard to see. Lightening flashed violently across the sky, the thunder that followed roaring furiously. " Get Below deck!" the Captain shouts over the howling gale. And as they all struggled their way there a wave smashes against the boat, knocking them their feet. Castiel lands on his stomach, his camera falling from his grip and slid to the stern of the boat. Castiel stumbles to his feet to get to it.

" Castiel, No!" Evan yelled, jumping up and goes after him. The waves crashed and crashed again, giving Evan a difficult time to reach Castiel. The moment Castiel retrieves the camera Evan grabs him, " Are you crazy?!" Without warning, another swell nearly the same height as the Grazia comes slamming onto the deck, washing Castiel and Evan aggressively into the ocean.

" Men overboard!" Michael screams towards the cockpit. The Captain quickly comes out with a life-line and throws it out to them. Waves continued to toss the boat up and down, as well as carry Castiel and Evan further away.

" Castiel!" Evan kicks at the water as hard as his body would let him to get closer to Castiel. He grips tightly at his lover's life-jacket, " Hang onto me." and Castiel holds him for dear life. Evan then starts swimming them back to the boat, though he suddenly stops and stares in horror. A twenty-five foot swell was heading not only towards the Grazia but to them as well.

" Hang on!" Virgilio shouts. But it was too late as the wave capsizes the boat, sending everyone falling into the water.

That wave then comes down on the couple, dragging them both under water, the sheer force ripping them fro each other's embrace. A few moments later Evan comes splashing up, gasping for air, " Castiel?!" he calls out, looking in every direction for his lover, but it was too dark and was hard to see through the heavily pouring rain, " Castiel!... CASTIEL!"

About a hundred yards out Castiel finally resurfaces, " Help!" he yells, yet his cries were drowned out by the thunder, " Evan!" he looks everywhere for them but the waves were too high, " Dad!" more waves push him further out from the group. " Where are you?!"

...

**To Be Continued...**


	4. Welcome To The Land Of The Dead

**CHAPTER 4: **Welcome To The Land Of The Dead

**Short Chapter**

... The Next Morning ...

Light was soaking out of the sky, the breeze soft and warm, waves calmly lapping onto the beach. And laid out in the sand, unconscious and damp was Castiel. He wakes with a start, panically gazing at his surroundings, panting rapidly. When he comes to realize he had been washed ashore, he rises to his feet, removing his life-vest and tosses it to the side. He soon finds out his mother's old camera was gone. His eyes scan the area, walking along the coast searching and searching for it. Not far from where he woke he finds it half buried, grabbing it he dusts the sand out from its lens. Again he strolls the beach, now in search for his family. There was no sign of them anywhere. Castiel believes they may have washed up elsewhere and heads the other direction, he may run into them if he stood close to the water.

Castiel then notices a town out in the distance, he runs there as fast as he could, thinking that they might be there. If not, he could find someone who can help and he'd have a search and rescue sent out to find them. As he drew closer, he saw something was out of place, the town looked deserted. '_ What the hell? _' he thought. Cars filled the street, abandoned with their doors left wide open, and there wasn't a soul in sight. Castiel continued on down the block, gazing into one shop, mangled shelves were stacked up against the shattered windows like a barricade but by the looks of it, it didn't hold. He wondered what happened, ' _Was there a riot or something?... where is everyone? _' Castiel then calls out, " Hello?!" no response, the town lay dead around him. " Is anyone there?!" he tries again, still nothing.

Castiel walks into a cafe nearby, the place was wrecked, tables and chairs were upturned and scattered, broken glass all over the floors. He was beginning to get a bad feeling about this place and he turns to leave, perhaps waiting by the beach wasn't a bad idea just as long as he wasn't here. That's when he saw it, a shadowy figure cast along the wall of the alley across the street moved away. Whether it was a man or animal he couldn't tell. Castiel quickly rushes outside, across the street and into the alley, " Hey!" he tries getting their attention. " Wait, please I need help!" he rounded the back corner of the alley coming to a dead end, who or whatever it was, was gone now. " Shit..." he cussed under his breath, hoping he hadn't scared them off.

Suddenly, an animalistic shriek he's never heard of reverberates throughout the alley, " Rraaugh!" it startles him, Castiel's eyes darted around to find the source of the cry. " Augh!" it grew louder. Castiel spun around wildly, fear welling up inside him. " Graaugh!" it was coming closer. There were definitely several more of them now. Castiel's fear grew more and more primal, his thoughts tumbling into feral abandon. " Aaugh!... Raugh!" the eerie howls were nearly upon him, but Castiel couldn't see them.

Suddenly, Castiel heard a growl come from above. He slowly glanced up toward the thick shadows that lined the alley's rooftops. Two dozen pale skinned, blood stained, snarling people stared down at him. A new kind of fear coursed through him, an inner instinct telling him he was in a very bad situation. His eyes widened with disbelief as they began crawling their way down the walls toward him, their hollow eye sockets harboring sinister red glows that were trained on Castiel like lasers. Castiel started to shake, his face going pale as they bared their blood seeping teeth, moving closer and closer. It took all the willpower in Castiel to turn and run away. The fiends quickly pursue him. Castiel cuts down the corner back onto the street where he started, not daring to look back. The creatures shot around after him, their shrieks echoing from behind. Castiel ran as fast as his feet could carry him, he came to another corner, made another left, zig-zagging through town in attempt to lose them. He then finds himself by the towns school, and he bolts inside, closing the door behind him.

After a few minutes he peeks out the window, everything was quiet, he had lost them for now. He slides to the floor gasping for air, his heart pounding against his chest. Castiel had never been so scared for his life before. ' _What the fuck were those things? _' he wondered, ' _They weren't human... _' he realized he couldn't stay here long, not with those things on the look out for him. He gets back on his feet and looks around. It was dark and smelled like rotting corpses, he didn't wish to stay here. Cautiously, he looked up and down the hallways for any signs of more of them. It looked safe, so Castiel begins to wander the halls gazing at the mess surrounding him. The sight of blood smeared on the walls and floor sent chills up his spine. He can see more barricades down the hall to his right, so he goes left instead. Something was bothering him though, he had the feeling of eyes watching him. Every now and then he'd look to directions to any sound he heard. Then a puzzling thought came to mind, '_ Is it some kind of virus?... maybe a biological test gone wrong?... _' he was too busy pondering that he didn't notice the figure following him from the ceiling. What gave it away was its hiss. Castiel froze in place, he had to require the courage to look up to the beast.

" Raaughh!" it bounds off the ceiling toward him. Out of blind luck Castiel falls back with fright and the creature crashes into the lockers, which gave him a chance to race off. The fiend leaped on its hands and feet, then chased after him. Castiel didn't dare stop, he bolts up the staircase, going up a few floors before cutting down the hall, afraid if he stopped he'd be feeling that things teeth digging into his flesh.

At last his body forced him to halt. Panting, gasping, he leaned against the wall to catch his breath. But his rest is short lived as the beast comes leaping up the steps. Castiel quickly darts down another hall. The creature hops and crawls the walls, it was gaining on him fast. Castiel spots an open door at the end of the hall. ' _Come on Castiel, you can make it... you can make it! _' he pushes himself harder. He reaches the room, grabbing the door knob. And just as it leaps at him, it crashes into the heavy metal with a painful yelp as Castiel slams the door shut.

It jumps back on its feet, glaring through the small window into Castiel's eyes. Then howled as it bumps at the door wildly. Castiel sighed in relief, it couldn't get in, and it sure as hell wasn't able to smash its way through. Castiel laughs, " Ha, can't get me now huh!" the beast resumed throwing its weight against the frame. Castiel went on taunting it, " Bang all you want, you're not getting in." it thrashed, smacked and scraped at the metal, snarling and roaring, not letting up one bit. In his daring and idiotic decision Castiel moved closer to have a better look at its face. He grimaced at its features, so skinny he can literally see the cheekbones, its mouth blemished with blood and its tongue was practically purple, and he swears he sees some flesh caught between its teeth, " Damn... you are one ugly mother fucker..." the creature finally ceases, remaining still, glaring. Its eyes then shifts downward, Castiel followed its gaze to the door knob. He fearfully stumbles back as the knob starts jiggling. '_ Oh, you gotta be kidding me! _' Castiel back up between a row of tables.

The door swings open, and it steps inside, growling ferociously. Moving closer and closer every time Castiel took a step back. Soon enough he was up against the wall at the back of the room. Castiel darts to his left, but the beast leaps across the room, onto a table before him. He scampers to the right in effort to leave the classroom. A second leap and it was on the teachers desk. Castiel halts, heart racing with anxiety as it bared its fangs, ready to attack. Once again, Castiel was cornered. His hands searched for anything he could use to defend himself with, keeping his eyes on the beast. At last his fingers come in contact with something blunt, he grips onto it tightly.

Raising its claws, the fiend reached out for him. Castiel swings the object, whacking it across its face. It yelped with rage, stumbling back. He hits it again on top of its head. It roared with outrage, glancing over its shoulder and snarled. Castiel swats it across the backside as hard as he could, sending it tumbling over the row of chairs. That was enough to give Castiel a chance and he sprints for the door. The fiend vaulted over the tables, shot out the door, dashing through the hallway after him. Castiel sped down the staircase, rounded the corner and ran straight ahead.

A huge roar broke from its lungs that rang throughout the halls. The rumpus then attracts more of them from the other rooms. Five poured into the hall to join the chase. Screaming in fright, Castiel was skidding around the corners and down the hall as fast as his legs would let him. But the floors were wet with blood. He slipped and slid and couldn't get a lead on his pursuers. He dodged into the cafeteria. The pack followed. Castiel bolts along the narrow spaces between the tables. The pursuing group took to the tabletops, and were gaining fast. Just ahead of him there was another door, and past that the doors to the outside, an escape.

But suddenly there it was, standing at the edge of a table to his only way out, another one. For a moment Castiel panicked, yet he pressed forward. It gave a deep-throated growl, flexed its legs, and leaped straight at him. Castiel turned pale, shutting his eyes tight and ducked. The fiend shot past him into the trailing pack, all falling onto each other in a heap. Castiel raced out the big steel doors and continued running. There was an alley behind the school. He headed for it. Scrambling over the wired fence, he hid behind some garbage cans.

Castiel brings a trembling hand up to his chest, clutching at his shirt, surprised that he was still alive. How is it that one day he's enjoying a family vacation and the next he wakes up in a place filled with flesh-eating people, to which he has no clue how that is even possible. He thought Zombies, or whatever they are, were all Hollywood, just make-up and special effects shit. He surely can't say he's dreaming all this or else he would've woken up in bed screaming already. What he's seen... was utterly real. Castiel knew he'd have to keep moving, so he carefully heads to the mouth of the alley. He pokes his head out, scanning the area. It looked clear. He steps out nervously, eyes darting around at every rooftop just to be sure he was alone. Castiel then treads quickly down the block.

To his shock, as he turned the corner he was greeted with a rifle aimed right at his face. Castiel felt his heart jump to his throat. And at the other end of that rifle, stood its wielder. Piercing green orbs glared into his blue ones. He wore a torn up army uniform, Castiel could tell by the badge on his sleeve that he is American. Those eyes looked him over, head to toe.

" Were you bitten?..." the stranger asked, his voice was deep and emotionless. Castiel was having a hard time answering that while he's staring down the barrel of an M-16. The man takes a threatening step forward, " I said, were you bitten?" he repeats through gritted teeth.

" N-no.." Castiel stuttered his reply.

" Castiel?" a familiar voice calls out. The man looks over his shoulder. Castiel looked as well, and tears welled in his eyes when he realized it was Evan. His lover glared at the stranger, " What the hells wrong with you, man?"

" Evan!" Castiel runs over to him, embracing his lover as if his life depended on it.

" You know each other?" The man asked with a raised brow.

" He's my boyfriend..." Evan answered. Holding Castiel closer as he weeped in relief on his shoulder.

" What do you know, it's a small world after all..." he said humorlessly. The man gives a quick check at the area.

" Wait..." Castiel pulls away, " Where's my family?"

Evan's gaze dropped to the floor, " We washed ashore about a mile from here, we were looking for you when we got ambushed... I got separated from the others... I would've been a goner if it weren't for Dean here." he gestured his eyes to Dean.

Castiel looked over to Dean, "... Thank you.."

" Alright, enough with the chick-flick moment, let's get going before the Banshees sniff us out." Dean suggested and began moving along down the road. Evan took Castiel's hand into his own and they followed Dean's lead through town.

...


	5. Rule 1: Travel By Day, Rest At Night

**CHAPTER 5: **Rule 1: Travel By Day, Rest At Night

...

For hours they walked without any rest, they just kept on marching. It had been five hours since they left town, now strolling north to wherever it is Dean's leading them. They stood clear of the roads knowing the creatures, or Banshees as Dean calls them, roamed around those areas. The only time they did stop was when they needed supplies, which was difficult. Many of the homes and shops they searched had already been ransacked, so food will be the toughest to come by. Water was no problem since they used the tap water and filled it in empty bottles they collected. Other than that they were always back to walking within minutes after arrival. Dean had explained that staying in one place too long, the Banshees would be drawn to them, and Banshees always hunted in packs.

Another two hours go by and all they did was cross-country up hills, through deserted fields and far from the reaches of towns. It was very, very tiring. The couple were growing exhausted and hungry. Evan and Castiel were slowly beginning to lag behind, and their feet ached. Dean on the other hand, was trained to endure such long distance hiking, so it never really bothered him. Though Dean did notice that the other's pace had slowed. looking over his shoulder, Dean groaned with annoyance.

" Pick up the pace you two." He ordered.

" Can't we just rest for an hour... please?" Evan panted.

Dean turns on his heels, stepping right into Evan's personal space, " I'm sorry, but if you don't want your asses to get eaten, I suggest we keep moving."

" We haven't seen any signs of Banshees for hours!" Evan implied angrily.

Dean scoffed, " you just don't get it, do you?... these things aren't your average Zombies you see in the movies... These sons of bitches are fast, pack hunters and are quick problem solvers... you've seen it for yourselves..." he turn his back at them and goes on marching, " Besides, there's a small village two miles north-west of here... We can rest there."

" And how do you know that?" Castiel asked.

" A day before running you two I received a short radio transmission saying there are survivors at that location, and I know for sure my platoon will be there... along with my brother..." that last part Dean whispered to himself. They continued on. From there on, they didn't speak another word for the rest of the journey.

...

Within an hour the three men had arrived at their destination. They sauntered to the edge of a dried up riverbed, the village just thirty-five yards away. The men hunkered down into the channel, poking their heads up at the other side. Dean reaches into his vest pocket for his binoculars, looking through them and inspected the area. He pans to the left, seeing no one in sight. Then moves right, nothing, the whole village seemed empty. Dean knew he should've expected this, finding his squad out here would've been too easy. Though by the looks of it, they may have passed through recently, with all the Banshee corpses laying about. They must've gotten the same transmission calling out for help and came to get the survivors out. At least something good came out of traveling all the way here, the place looked safe to spend the night. But Dean wanted to be absolutely sure.

" Yep, my team was here, they evacuated everyone..." putting the binoculars back in his pocket Dean then climbs up, " It'll be dark in two hours, that's enough time to look for food and a place to lay low until morning..." Dean grabbed Castiel by the hand, pulling him up the slope. Aiding Evan up next. " Stay close to me, no wandering off." He advised. He raises his M-16 and takes the lead. The couple follow. They casually strolled into the village. Dean peered at each Banshee corpse, all had a single bullet wound to the head, his guesses were right, His platoon had been here; a shot like that was done by professional hands. Dean then returned his focus to his surroundings, darted his gaze cautiously around, fully alert for any attacks. And yet, nothing. No movement of any kind.

A kernel of suspicion formed in the back of his mind. Having faced the Banshees himself these past few days, there were several things that Dean had come to understand. Above all, these creatures would always sneak up on their prey when they least expected it. Dean had learned this the first day he and his team washed up on the island.

They made their way down the street, keeping their eyes peeled for anything that moved. The area was almost unnaturally quiet. Suddenly, Dean caught a glimpse of something drop from the rooftop across the street. Almost simultaneously, Dean whipped his rifle to that direction, stopping in his tracks. " Shh, get down." He whispered to the couple. Castiel and Evan duck behind a car. Dean steps out in the middle of the street, swinging the barrel around, looking for a target. His chest heaved anxiously. ' _Where are you? _'

And then it happened. From between two cars, one crawled out. Its entire left arm was missing. Even so, it moved fluidly.

Castiel is the first to spot it and goes pale with fright, he was quivering, barely able to mouth the soldiers name. The beast silently sprang into the air, lunging toward Dean with its remaining arm outstretched. The thing had grown inhuman talons. Dean had his back to the Banshee. " Dean, look out!" But it was too late.

Dean spins to get an aim at it, but it crashes on top of him and Dean falls to the ground. His rifle is smacked from his grip. Castiel and Evan looked on with wide eyes, rooted to the spot. Dean presses his palms against its throat, keeping its snapping teeth at bay. He then slips his feet between himself and the beast, forcefully launching it off. The creature rolls back onto its feet. It swung its baleful gaze toward Dean and lets out a hiss.

" Shut up!" Dean kicks it in the chin. The Banshee stumbles back. Dean seized it by the arm, catching it. " You ugly..." Dean balled his fist and plunged it into the thing's face. He pounded again and again, landing a blistering series of blows that would have shattered bone. Eventually he broke through the beast's jaw with an uppercut that sent its head snapping back. But Dean still had his viselike grip on its arm. " Flesh eating..." he pulled the body back like a punching bag and bent it over his knee. A series of pops told the couple that Dean had snapped the creatures spine. " Son of a bitch!" Dean threw the Banshee to the ground and sank a heavy boot deep into its head.

A brittle wheeze escaped the creature's mouth. The thing's skull was crushed beyond recognition. A steady flow of blackish blood streamed down its ruined face. Dean slams his foot down again at brute force, and the beast laid lifeless. Dean walks away, retrieving his gun.

The couple realized they had been frozen in shock the entire time. They stared, mouths agape. Dean peers over to them and narrowed his brows, " You lovebirds gonna sit there staring or are you coming?" he brushes himself off, " This one must've been missed when my team cleared the place..." he glanced back to the lifeless Banshee.

" You sure it's safe?" Evan asked.

Dean nods, " Believe me, if there were more they would have swarmed us by now... now let's go, we gotta find some food before settling in the night." The three then moved along together, allowing themselves to be drawn through the village to their next destination. Their feet traced out a path through alleys and byways, taking them to the center of the village. They suddenly had an urge to vomit, a foul odor of rotting meat penetrated their nostrils. What they saw next sent hair-raising chills up their spine. smacked dead in the middle of the street laid a large pile of corpses, dozens of them. Bodies of both infected and fallen survivors. Dean surveyed the scene coolly, " That's something I'll never get used to..." Dean has come by things like this more than he'd want to remember, and no matter how much he is used to it, it never ceased to haunt his dreams. Dean turns his back to the grisly scene, " Let's keep moving." leaving behind the heap of dead they stalked off down another alley, continuing on their path.

They rounded the corner and stopped. Finally finding what they were looking for. Just at the far end of the block Dean spots a cafe, and they make their way there. The shop's sign creaked on its hinges across from them. Through the stained glass they can see inside. It wasn't particularly spacious, but it'll have to do. They go inside. Dean locks the door behind him, closing every shade or curtain of every window to conceal their whereabouts. While he did that, Castiel and Evan do their part by foraging for anything to eat. Evan takes his search into the kitchen. Castiel checks behind the bar. Yet to his disappointment, every shelf had been cleared out.

Then Castiel sees something by the wall covered by an empty duffel bag. On top of that was a sheet of paper. Castiel picks up the paper, then narrowed his eyes. It was a letter, but to whom it was addressed to surprised him. "... Uh... Dean?.."

" What?" he responds, still going around securing the shop.

" I think this is for you..." Castiel says.

Dean halts his actions, turning towards Castiel who held out the letter to him. He steps up to the bar and takes the paper. He begins to read.

_Dear Dean,_

_ If you're still alive then I know for sure you've gotten the same transmission we did. If you find this letter, know that we have evacuated the remaining survivors and are heading to Messina. There's a Ferry that can take us off the island. See you there._

_ P.S. I've left behind a Map marking the best trail to Messina and a crate of food to last you the trip. Ration it well._

_ -Sammy_

Dean begins to chuckle, he hops over the bar to the other side, " Gentlemen..." he removes the duffel to reveal the hidden crate packed with canned foods and a map. The couple's face's lit up as if they had just struck gold. " My brother has answered our prayers..."

Later that evening they sat together, enjoying their first meal after such a long day. As they ate, Dean took the time to examine the map Sam had left behind. He guided his finger across a line his brother had marked all the way towards Messina, mentally calculating the distance for their next hike. He sighed heavily, from where they are now the expidition to escape the island was gonna be a long one. And, though Dean hates to admit, it will become very dangerous. Alone, Dean would've had no problem but now having to watch over the couple, whom they have no clue how to defend themselves. For that, Dean knew there'd be many troubles ahead of them.

Dean folds the map and puts it in his vest pocket. " Get a good nights rest cause we're leaving at dawn.."

" How long do you think it'll take to get to Messina?" Castiel asked.

" Two days... three tops.."

...

Moonlight stabbed through the night sky, illuminating past the shades where Dean had perched himself on a chair, keeping a watchful eye out the window while Castiel and Evan slumbered. It is close to midnight. Dean gazed up to a full moon, after all this hell he's been through these few days he can hardly sleep nights. One part is because at this time, Banshees were out on the hunt, like any monster you'd hear of in storybooks. But, it was mostly reliving the incident on the plane in his dreams, seeing the faces of his fallen comrades, most of them were his friends. As well as every Banshee Dean has slain, they were all once people. They were once fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, children and elderly. Dean had killed many who didn't deserve what had happened to them. All this chaos haunted him every time he shut his eyes. And for that he hardly slept, he did of course bump in four hours of shut eye, which is all he really needed.

Dean's eyes shift towards Castiel and Evan, the couple were laying across the floor huddled together, keeping one another warm through their embrace. Dean was never really good at becoming acquainted with new faces, but after a short time spent with the lovers, Dean has become used to them.

Dean then looks to his watch, it's really getting late and he needed sleep. ' _We'll leave at six thirty... _' he took a mental note. He leaned back in his chair and propped his feet onto the table. For a few more minutes Dean kept an eye out the window, and soon enough sleep takes over him.

...

**To Be Continued...**


	6. Ambushed

**CHAPTER 6: **Ambushed

...

One hundred and thirty-four kilometers east of Dean, Castiel and Evan's location, Sam and his team are a whole day ahead, continuing their path to Messina. With them followed thirty survivors, most were citizens they had rescued from the towns they've passed through, the rest were Italian military officers. The extra set of gunmen is exactly what Sam's squad needed to keep the survivors safe from Banshees. The group has been marching through the entire day, and Sam had a feeling they'll still be going most of the night with John leading them. Sam understands his father wants to get them off the island as quickly as possible, but traveling in the dark is far too dangerous with those things roaming around.

Sam glances back to the others, they all looked exhausted, including his fellow soldiers. Sam sighed, he has to convince John to stop until daylight. He jogs up towards his father. " Don't you think we've traveled far enough for today?" Sam whispered.

John stops in his tracks, looking at Sam for a few seconds then over his shoulder to the group. " Alright..." John's gaze darts cautiously at their surroundings, " We can't stay out in the open though... Hicks." he calls out.

" Lieutenant?" the Private strolls up.

" Get out your goggles, I need you to find us someplace we can hunker down 'til morning."

" Yes, sir." Hicks takes his night-vision goggles from his duffel, then moves ahead of the group. Hicks crouches down low atop a hill, using the goggles to search the open area. The first thing he looks out for were for any signs of Banshees. Hicks suddenly spots a few stragglers just at the base of the hill, " Shit.." he cussed under his breath, quickly dropping down onto his stomach before being detected. Remaining very quiet and low to the ground Hicks returns to the group. " There's flesh-eaters just at the other side."

" How many?" John asked.

" Five." he replied.

" ... Alright... Cunningham?" John turned toward the soldier, " Take them out." Cunningham gives an affirmative nod, crouching low and makes his way up the hill. John turns his attention to the survivors, " Tutti si prega di rimanere dove sei, abbiamo a che fare con la situazione." **( Everyone please stay where you are, we have to deal with the situation.)** He explains to them quietly as to not alert the creatures of their whereabouts.

While the group stood together, Cunningham is laid across the dirt with his sniper trained on his targets. The Banshees were too busy feeding on cow to notice him. The Private aims the barrel to one's head. Taking a deep breath he fires the first one down, the bullet cuts clean through its skull, exploding out from the other side of its head, it's body is sent flying a few feet from the other four. The remaining Banshees are startled, raising their heads in search of Cunningham. But being well hidden behind a couple of bushes and his sniper equipped with a muffler, he was okay. He then trains his sights on another one, shooting it right between the eyes. Three of them left now, they were starting to become uneasy, crawling here and there still looking for the soldier. Growling and snapping. Cunningham takes out the third one. Then the fourth. The final one rises to its feet, its nose points to the sky and it takes a whiff of the air. Through the scope Cunningham tries to get a good lock on its head, aiming the gun a bit higher. Doing so, the moonlight reflects off the scopes lens.

The Banshees fierce gaze suddenly snaps at the soldier's direction. It bares its teeth, " Rraaaughh!" it gives a shriek as it charges up the hill. Cunningham swiftly unsheathes his bowie knife, chucking it at the Banshee, the knife becomes embedded in its skull and the creature collapses with a thud right in front of him. The soldier rises slowly, checking the area through his scope in order to be sure. As he did that, out in the distance he can see a thick line of trees just ahead. He lowers his weapon and shifts his weight to the side, " We're in the clear, sir... I can see trees, a quarter mile out."

" Good job, Private.." John reaches into the thigh pocket of his pants for the map, Sam points his flashlight onto the chart so his father could see. " Alright... so yesterday morning we left Alcamo... so that would leave us right about..." John traces his finger along the path they had taken all the way to their present whereabouts. " Here.." he taps his finger on the paper. " We're right by the Regional Natural Park of Madonie."

Sam narrows his eyes, moving closer to examine the map himself, " You're telling me you want to go in there?... all there is are woods and treacherous landscapes... I think we should head south, go around it."

" We'll only lose another day... it's best if we go through and stay on a hiking path." John folds the map and slips it in his pocket.

" Dad, we have no idea if those things are in there, you'll be risking our lives... we should take our chances and go around." Sam implies sharply.

Looking over to Sam, John's brows furrowed, " Need I remind you Sam, that I'm am your Lieutenant, I give the orders not you..." he turns away, " Let's go..." John starts walking off, the soldiers and citizens followed. Sam clenched his jaw, nothing he can do now to change John's mind about it, he sighs heavily and catches up with everyone.

...

When they reach the thicket they all stop, the citizens became a bit tense as they stared into the darkness of the woods. Out in the open the moon provided some of the light they needed to see, while in there the trees would block out most of that light. They didn't have flashlights, only the night-vision goggles John and his troops carried on them. Sam steps next to his father, " How is everyone gonna see? it's not like we have a bag full of googles on us."

John merely turns around and gestures Hicks to come over. The soldier walks up and hands over a duffel he was carried, " Why do you think we made that stop in Alcamo?..." John replies and opens the bag, revealing a whole lot of flashlights and batteries. " Food and water aren't the only things we grabbed Sam.." he began filling each flashlight with a battery then hands one to each civilian, which seemed to put them more at ease. John hands one to Sam and takes the last for himself, he closes the bag and gives it back to Hicks. " Alright... I want every civilian to remain in the center of the group, those with a gun make a perimeter around them and keep them safe... everyone stay close, if you happen to stray from the group just call out and we'll find you..." the soldiers do as John orders and surround the people, while Sam remains at his father's side. John takes a long look into the forest before stepping inside. " Let's move along." And the group followed.

As they strolled deeper in the forest, every soldier was on alert keeping a watchful eye out for any surprises, flashing their lights around every tree or bush they passed. It was quiet... a little too quiet, even for them. Not a single sound, besides the light echo of their footsteps. They pass through a tunnel of dark trees. The wind began to moan. The stillness brought back that anxiety the civilians had earlier, and by the looks of it even the Italian troops were getting nervous as well.

They go on for two miles, until they come upon an open field. There was grass that reached above their waists that stretched out a dozen yards. They stop for a brief moment. John slowly peers to his left, then to the right, scouring for Banshees. He then pulled out his .357 Magnum pistol and steps into the field. And on they went, treading carefully deeper into the long grass. The group comes to a halt, something was wrong. Somewhere in the distance a peculiar sound of cooing reverberates from behind the tree-lines. Then, farther off, another answered. A minute later, a sharper murmur echoed through the forest. Has to be an animal of some sort. The group went on into the darkness, and the odd sounds trailed closer. Then they heard rustling in the grass, closing in on all sides. The soldiers looked around, weapons raised. They were beginning to get nervous, the rustling only came closer. The group comes to a standstill, everyone gazed out into the darkness. The soldiers swung their barrels at every direction, all eyes searched with panic.

The moment the moon came out from behind a cloud, it went completely silent, the murmurs and rustling suddenly cease. The grass was too high to see what was pursuing them. And still, the soldiers whipped their weapons around, moving into defensive formation, surrounding the civilians to protect them. The silence was worse than the whistling breeze.

Without warning, one of the Italian officers is dragged down into the long grass. The others are startled and their guns swings everywhere, looking for the target. Suddenly, another soldier is pulled away. Everyone began to panic. Several growls behind them sets them all off- Banshee growls. Everybody scrambles in all directions screaming with fear.

" No!... don't scatter!" Sam shouts.

The Italian soldiers raised their guns and began spitting out fire. They held down the triggers, loosening dozens of bullets into the grass until at last their chambers were empty. But with the Banshees cloaked in the long grass, it was difficult to find out which direction they were coming from. One by one someone else is dragged away screaming for help.

Then John calls out from the top of his voice, " RUN!" Everyone trailed at John's direction, sprinting down the field as fast as they could. The shrieks indicated that the Banshees were hot on their heels.

" Rauughh!" one of the creatures leapt into the air, pouncing a woman to the ground, its talons dug into her shoulders, its teeth tearing through her shirt and flesh. The woman screamed from the top of her lungs.

From the front Sam and John spot two more charging toward them. John raised his Magnum and lobbed a shot at the first Banshee, quickly dispatching it. Sam unsheathes a machete strapped at his side, and with a strong swing of his arm he cut the other beast's head clean off. The group continued running and the creatures stalked behind. Soon enough they were back in the woods. The Banshees take to the tree tops, leaping from one branch to another. When they got close enough to a survivor, they lunged at them. Bit by bit the number of survivors dwindled. Thirty-six dropped to twenty in a matter of minutes. And the number of Banshees just grew, those who were caught and bitten in the onslaught had turned and set their sights on the living.

The survivors raced up steep hills and across a river, cutting left and into a thick row of trees. The attempt to lose their pursuers was working, the Banshees shrieks began fading, they were far from their reach. They didn't stop just yet, they ran until they were all out of breath, finally coming to a halt. Many of the survivors wept for their fallen friends and loved ones.

Sam walks up to his father, " So, dad... you still think it was a good idea to come in here?" he huffed.

John glances at Sam, his eyes were filled with guilt. John didn't say a word, he only turns away. All he wanted was to get everyone out of this hell hole. But this incident has cost the lives of most the group. John then remembered, this event was vastly similar to what had happened when they had set foot on the island. A simple order and a indistinguishable mistake that got Dean separated from the group. John admitted it was his fault for not listening to Sam. John takes a deep shaky breath, if they are to make it to Messina alive, he needed to listen to Sam's suggestions from now on. " I'm sorry Sam... you were right, we should've gone around..."

Sam sighed, "... Hey... first things first, let's find shelter, then we can discuss this..."

" Lieutenant?" Cunningham calls out. Sam and John turn their attention to the soldier, " Look..." he points his flashlight beyond the trees, revealing a hidden cave, a perfect place to hide out and get some shut eye.

" Good work, Private... get those people inside." John orders.

Cunningham nods, " Tutti voi per favore mi segua." **( All of you please follow me.)** The civilians trail behind the man as they entered the cave. John and Sam stand at the mouth of the cave for a few minutes, watching as everyone sit sharing water and food with one another.

"... I'll take the first look-out, you get some rest, Son..." John says softly before settling himself at the entrance.

" Aren't you hungry?..." Sam asked.

" No... I'm fine... " is the last John says. Before Sam moves along to get some food he stared at his father for a moment or two, he sighed lightly then walks away. John sits there, staring out to the darkness, in silence for the rest of the night.

...


	7. Help Comes To Those Who Need It

**CHAPTER 7: **Help Comes To Those Who Need It

**Short Chapter**

...

Meanwhile, up the north side of the island and four miles west from the city of Terrasini, the Novak family, Virgilio and his son, and the two other citizens are walking along the coast. They were all still pretty shook up from earlier today. Ever since those creatures ambushed them, they were frightened for their lives. The town they were at before, they spent most the day hiding out in the basement of a house. That was also where they lost Evan, he had set himself up as bait to lead away the Banshees in order for them to hide. Jacob was proud for Evan's but he worried for him, and for Castiel. He prayed they were alive and in good hands. In the meantime, he and Virgilio lead the group onward. Jacob figured there might be a military base somewhere near Terrasini, so they might as well keep going until they find help.

As they went on, Anna was strolling behind the group. She was very concerned for her little brother. After witnessing Castiel be swooped away by that wave during the storm, she couldn't stop thinking of the inevitable, and frankly it bothered her. Anna sighed, a part of her really hoped he was alive and they'd find him while on their way to Terrasini. Just ahead of her, Michael could see her uneasiness as clear as day. He turned on his heels to walk beside her.

" I'n sure Castiel is alright, Anna." He said, trying his best to comfort her.

" How do you know for sure?" She asked.

Michael smiles softly, " He's a Novak, and Novak's don't quit..." he replied, it was an old motto they all learned from their father when they were kids, " Don't you worry, we'll find him."

They continued on, soon finding themselves on a road. The moonlight revealed a multitude of abandoned cars that were scattered along the road. Treading down between a row of cars, they were hidden by the vehicles. They stuck together, keeping an eye out in all directions. Jacob would go window to window of each car, looking for supplies. Anything useful really, like a weapon or a radio, at least something they could take with them. Then he came across a police car, and he steps closer. The windshield was shattered, the hood and roof were dented, and blood was stained on the inside. Jacob carefully peeks inside with an axe ready for any surprises. Suddenly an awful stench reached his senses and Jacob turned away with a gag. Inside the vehicle he sees a rotting corpse of an officer, the poor man was nearly eaten to the bone. Jacob opens the door, stepping back as the carcass falls out. On the officers utility belt he sees a gun, so he reaches for it. Jacob grimaced with disgust as he takes the weapon from the bloody body. He then searches every pouch and pocket for extra ammo, finding two clips he puts them in his rear pocket.

Jacob goes back to searching the car, he tries using the radio but it was broken. He cussed under his breath. Then he spots a shotgun on the floor under the back seat. He grabs it. The gun had bloody hand-print stains on it. Jacob believed the officer might've tried using it to defend himself from the creatures. He thoroughly seeks for any shotgun shells, which he finally finds a box full of them in the glove compartment.

Jacob suddenly jolts to the sound of a gurgling wheeze, he swung the gun around in surprise towards the corpse laying by his feet. The officer's body had been reanimated by the infection, it wasn't dangerous though since its arms and legs were rendered useless. Its bloodshot eyes just glared into Jacob's, snapping its teeth and its frame wobbled side to side as if it were trying to get at him. Jacob looked down at the creature with pity, feeling sorry for the thing. No one deserved that kind of fate. He kneels down next to the thing, being careful not to get too close.

Jacob sighs, " I'm sorry..." He raises the butt of the shotgun and slams it down on its head a couple times until it stopped moving.

Lucifer stands over his father, " You alright, Dad?" he asked.

Jacob peered up to his son, then gets on his feet, " What could have caused this chaos?"

"... You may not like my opinion, but this is definitely some kind of governmental conspiracy of some sort... some viral weapon they made."

Jacob looked over to Lucifer for a long moment, in some way he believed that. What other reason would this happen? He may be a religious man but claiming that god is punishing mankind for their sins would sound a bit silly. "... You may be right..."

"... Come on, we should keep going." Lucifer suggests. So they go on, passing nearly two miles of stranded cars. It began clearing up as they went further.

Michael suddenly stops the group. " Wait..." everyone halts, "... Do you hear that?" all remained still, listening for whatever it was Michael was hearing. Soon enough they heard it, out in the distance was a roar of an engine. It sounded like a truck, and it was coming their way. All eyes searched for the incoming vehicle. From behind them, way down the road, Michael can see headlights heading toward them, and coming fast. " HEY!" Michael starts waving his arms in the air in attempt to grab their attention, " STOP!... Over here!" it didn't seem to be stopping any time soon, so Michael darts across the road and screams, " Stop the truck! STOP!"

The driver of the truck slammed on the brakes at the unexpected command. The man had been careening down the dark road at breakneck speed, but the the threw him. Starling enough that his reaction had thrown the truck into an uncontrolled skid as the wheels locked. The driver gripped the steering wheel tightly, and finally the vehicle came to a stop. The man crawled out of the car with a rifle in hand, he was a soldier. He wandered into the floodlit space provided by its headlights.

" C'è qualcuno?" **( Is someone there?) **he stammered.

" Over here." Michael responded, he emerged from the darkness, his form illuminated by the headlights, " Please, we need help."

" Puoi aiutarci?" **( Can you help us?) **Virgilio translated.

The soldier lowered his weapon, taken aback to see survivors all the way out here, " Quanti di voi ci sono?" **( How many of you are there?)**

" Ci sono dieci di noi." **( There are ten of us.) **Virgilio answered. The soldier glanced at each of them.

Suddenly everyone's attention is drawn up the road as they hear an uproar of shrieks. The man turns toward the truck and yell, " Abbiamo un attacco in arrivo!" **( We have an incoming attack!) **From the back of the truck seven soldiers jump out and line up on the road. The man turns back to the others and gestures them to come to him, " Tutti voi, entrare dentro." **( All of you, get inside.) **Michael and the others dove into the truck while the soldiers got their guns ready. The bellowing inhuman screams drew closer and closer. Nerves began to go on edge as a horde of Banshees came racing down the road. There were dozens of them. " Costante, uomini." **( Steady, men.)**

" Why can't we just leave, we can lose them right?" Anna says with anxiety.

" Those things would just follow us." Balthazar implied.

The Banshees were getting even closer. " Pronti..." **( Ready...)**

The creatures are merely a few yards from them, " Rrauggh!"

" Fuoco!" **( Fire!)**

It started with a single shot. Or at least that's what it sounded like. Scores of bullets had erupted almost simultaneously. they coaxed a blistering barrage out of their massive rifles, felling the nearest creature. But the horde kept on coming. Hundreds of bullets volleyed toward the creatures, kicking up a dust cloud. The guns sputtered out a few seconds later. The soldiers then lowered their weapons. When the dust cleared all that was left was a few very injured Banshees. The soldiers quickly reloaded and took out the rest with no problem.

" Chiaro!" **( Clear!) **one of soldiers called out.

" Va bene, muoviamoci!" **( Okay, let's get moving!) **All the soldiers get back on the truck and they were on the move once again.

" You see, I told you we'd find help if we on the road." Balthazar says.

Jacob chuckled nervously, " Good thing these soldiers found us before those things did."

And for the rest of the ride they were silent, waiting to arrive to wherever it is these soldiers were going.

...


End file.
